REPORT OF GOERING' S COMMISSION

for the investigation of the Aryanisations carried out in the Gau of Franconia between 9.11.38 and 9.2.39 and the irregularities connected therewith which have been established

[P. 9] k. By an order of the Reich Chancellor of the Exchequer of the 2nd September 1938, No. 57/ 38, issued with the agreement of the Fuehrer's deputy, all party offices, including organisations and attached formations, are forbidden to accept administrative dues, donations, gifts, bequests or material payments of any other kind for the participation of the party in economic tasks, including the transfer of Jewish firms to persons of German race, nor are they allowed to make the fulfillment of such tasks dependent on the payment of contributions, etc. The order was addressed to all Gau treasurers and reached the Gauleaders as well, among others.

[P. 12] From the course of events one can only assume that the Reich Chancellor of the Exchequer's order of the 2nd September 1938 No, 57/ 38 about the ban on financial payments for the cooperation of the Party in Aryanisation and other economic tasks was considered in Franconia to be superseded, and that they thought themselves entitled to obtain considerable sums of money for the Gau of Franconia in connection with Aryanisation.

[P. 13] 1. Following upon the November demonstrations, the deputy Gauleader, Holz, took up the Jewish questions. His * * * reasons can be given here in detail on the basis of his statement of the 25th March 1939:

"The 9th and 10th November 1938. In the night of the 9/10 November and on the 10th November 1938 events took place throughout Germany which I considered to be the signal for a completely different treatment of the Jewish question in Germany. Synagogues and Jewish schools were burnt down and Jewish property was smashed both in shops and in private houses. Be-sides this, a large number of particular Jews were taken to concentration camps by the police. Towards midday we discussed these events in the Gauleiter' s house. All of us were of the opinion that we now faced a completely new state of affairs on the Jewish question. By the great action against the Jews, carried out in the night and morning of the 10th November, all guiding prin-ciples and all laws on this subject had been made illusory. We were of the opinion (particularly myself) that we should now act on our own initiative in this respect. I proposed to the Gauleiter that, in view of the great existing lack of houses, the best thing would be to put the Jews into a kind of internment camp. Then the houses would become free in a twinkling and the housing shortage would be relieved, at least in part. Besides that, we would have the Jews under control and supervision. I added "The same thing happened to our prisoners of war and war internees." The Gauleiter said that this suggestion was, for the time being, impossible to carry out. Thereupon I made a new proposal to him: I said to him that I considered it unthinkable that, after the Jews had had their propetiy smashed they should continue to be able to own houses and land. I proposed that these houses and this land ought to be taken away from them, and declared myself ready to carry through such an action. I declared that by the Aryanisation of Jewish land and houses a large sum could accrue to the Gau out of the proceeds. I named some mil lions of marks. I stated that in my opinion, this Aryanisation could be carried out as legally as the Aryanisation of shops. The Gauleiter' s answer was something to this effect: "If you think you can carry this out, do so. The sum gained will then be used to build a Gau school." The very same afternoon I began to organize the Aryanization of land. I stated here as in my memo randum, too, that I considered this Aryanisation of Jewish land as a logical continuation of the events of the 9th and 10th November.  I was of the opinion that I was doing a service to the Party by trying to bring it money. I was further of the opinion that the transfer of the land and houses from Jewish to German hands was a National-Socialist action."

[P. 16] Holz appointed commissioners for Nurnberg and Furth to carry out the Aryanisation of Jewish landed property * * * [

[P. 18] 2. The Aryanisation was accomplished by the alienation of properties, the surrender of claims, especially mortgage claims, and reductions in buying price.

The payment allowed the Jews was basically 10% of the nominal value or nominal sum of the claim. As a justification for these low prices, Holz claimed at the Berlin meeting of the 6th February 1939 that the Jews had mostly bought their property during the inflation period for a tenth of its value. As has been shown by investigating a large number of individual cases selected at random, this claim is not true.

[P. 70] Favoritism shown to third parties and irregularities during the Aryanization of properties.

[P. 72] Schoeller case. c. Gauamtsleiter Fritz Schoeller bought Grimmstrasse 3, Nurnberg by a contract of the 15th November 1938. The house has a nominal value of RM 43,300 and an exchange value of RM 50,000. The buying price was fixed at RM 5,000. Holz admitted (statement of the 27th March 1939) that he was in agreement with the buying of the property. He based his agreement on the fact that Schoeller was an old and deserving party member and deserved particular consideration owing to his family circumstances.

Report of German Commission to Goering on Streicher.
[Extract from Part II]

[P. 139] On the other hand, the minority of the shares of the Mars-Werke, Nurnberg, with a face value of Reichsmark 112,500, were acquired through publishing house manager Fink for the Gauleiter according to the latter's instructions at the instigation of the deceased SA Brigadier General Koenig. These shares were in the possession of the Jewish banking house Kohn, the proprieter of which was at that time in protective custody. Verlagsdirektor Fink, as agent for the Gauleiter, acquired the parcel of Mars-Werke shares from this Jew at 5 per cent of the face value,' i.e., the sum of Reichsmark 5,600.

In the presence of Fink, Koenig informed the Gauleiter in detail of the completed transaction. The Gauleiter gave his complete assent and, in addition, gave the order to transfer the parcel of shares from the account of the banking firm Kohn to the account of Fink at the Dresdner Bank. He further ordered that his name should not be mentioned at all in connection with the transaction.

By order of the Gauleiter, Fink withdrew Reichsmark 5,600 from a Stuermer account, and later, also acting for the Gauleiter, he bought the remainder of the shares of the Mars-Dresdner Bank, at 60 per cent for the Gauleiter with Stuermer funds.

After Fink learned of the investigating commission he discussed the matter with Gauleiter Streicher. Streicher told Fink that he would keep the shares, because they had no connection with the Aryanization of estates, and if the purchase of the Mars shares should be contested he would simply pay over the required sum to the Reich.

After the investigating commission had started to work Gauleiter Streicher sent for Fink and told him the following: "The police have found out about the Mars shares. We will simply say that the shares were not bought for me but for the Fraenkische Tageszeitung!!" [P. 145] Thanks to the efforts of the district economic adviser and president of the chamber of' commerce Strobl, it was possible to persuade the Hungarian consul Pfaller to buy the estate of the Gauleiter on Lake Constance without ever having seen it, for a price of Reichsmark 240,000. It is noteworthy that the Gauleiter and people close to him had a very bad opinion of Consul Pfaller, but after the purchase of the estate the Gauleiter sent him a picture. In order to avoid the Gauleiter's appearing personally as the seller, a sham contract was made with publisher Willmy, so that the latter would appear to the outside world as the seller of the estate.

[P. 152] Gauleiter Streicher likes to beat people with a riding whip, but only if he is in the company of several persons assisting him. Usually the beatings are carried out with sadistic brutality.

The best known case is that of Steinruck, whom he beat bloodily in the prison cell, together with deputy Gauleiter Holz and SA Brigadier General Koenig. After returning from this scene to the "Deutscher Hof" he said: "Now I am relieved. I needed that again!" Later he also stated several times that he needed another Steinruck case in order to "relieve" [erloesen] himself.

In August 1938 he beat editor Burker at the district house, together with district office leader Schoeller and his adjutant Koenig. On 2 December 1938 he asked to have three youthful criminals (15 to 17 years old) who had been arrested for robbery brought to the room of the director of the criminal police office in Nurnberg-Fuerth. Streicher, who was accompanied by his son Lothar, had the youths brought in singly and questioned them about their sex life and in particular, through clear and detailed questioning, he laid stress on determining whether and since when they masturbated. One of the youths did not know the word, whereupon Streicher gave him a vivid description. The last one of these three boys he beat with his riding whip, with blows on the head and the rest of the body.

[P. 151] From 1934 to 1938 Gauleiter Streicher employed the Jew Jonas Wolk as contributor to the Stuermer. Wolk wrote for the Stuermer under the pseudonym of "Fritz Brandt". In addition, Wolk did spy work for the Gauleiter abroad. From February 1937 to August 1938 the Stuermer paid the Jew Wolk a fee of Reichsmark 8262.39. Wolk was previously convicted six times, among other things with loss of civic rights. It is especially significant that Streicher had the Jew Wolk paid by the Fraenkische Tageszeitung from 1934 to 1937. The Fraenkische Tageszeitung paid Wolk the sum of Reichmark 9,623.65.

[P. 160] According to the statement of the district treasurer [Gauschatzmeister], his financial adviser, and several other persons, Streicher is regarded as extremely brutal. The statements made by Verlagsdirektor Fink are especially significant. He declared that he was convinced that the Gauleiter would have him bumped off one of these days, as soon as he found out that Fink had told the truth to the investigating commission.

[P.161] According to reports of reliable witnesses, Gauleiter Streicher is in the habit of pointing out on the most varied occasions that he alone gives orders in the district of Franconia. For instance, at a meeting in the Collosseum in Nurnberg in 1935 he said that nobody could remove him from office. In a meeting at Herkules Hall, where he described how he had beaten Prof. Steinruck, he emphasized that he would not let himself be beaten by anybody, not even bp an Adolf H itler.

[P.166] For, this also must be stated here, in Franconia the Gau acts first and then orders the absolutely powerless authorities to approve.

[P. 1721 In general it is to be said that Koenig was regarded as the evil spirit in Franconia. In an unheard-of-manner he tyrannized the Gau leader, the authorities and the population, and he knew how to make the influence of his power felt everywhere. Koenig's word carried the weight of that of the Gauleiter.

[P.174] In favor of Strobl [pencil note: Director of the AEG, Gau economic adviser, and president of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce] it must be said that he, in contrast to almost all other defendants, immediately told the truth on all points in his interrogations. It is primarily thanks to him that clearness was quickly reached in many cases which could be verified.

As an excuse for his incorrect acts Strobl states that he like all other persons in the Gau of Franconia was to such an extent under the pressure of Gauleiter Streicher and his adjutant Koenig that he would never have dared to do anything against the orders of the two men mentioned.

[P.179] By the law of April 1938 it is decreed that all applications for Aryanization shall be submitted to the competent Gauleiter. From that time on Strobl submitted the applications, which he had up to that time handled by himself, to the adjutant of the Gauleiter, SA Brigadier General Koenig for approval. He makes the excuse that it had been the practice in Franconia for the adjutant to take care of almost all matters as agent for and deputy of the Gauleiter. Every order of Brigadier General Koenig was equivalent to an order of the Gauleiter.